Sunday, December 30, 2012

Honda Exhibit At Tokyo Auto Salon 2013 With NAPAC ...

CR-Z MUGEN RZ

CR-Z MUGEN RZ

Dec 27, 2012? Tokyo, Japan? (AutoReleased) ? Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced it will participate in TOKYO AUTO SALON 2013 with NAPAC*1, which will be held from Friday, January 11 to Sunday, January 13, 2013, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Featuring production and exhibition models of automobiles, motorcycles presenting a variety of exciting approaches to customization, power products and racing vehicles will also be presented at the Honda exhibit.

Featured automobiles will include models based on the all-new N-ONE mini-vehicle, such as the N-ONE Modulo*2 Style with its sophisticated atmosphere, the MUGEN Racing N-ONE Concept model manufactured by MUGEN*3, and a model created in collaboration with the Japan Nailist Association (JNA), showing off its custom body colors and adorned in rhinestone. Also on display will be 10 mini-vehicles full of fun and variety, including show models of the VAMOS and the ACTY TRUCK.

Honda?s automobile exhibit will also show the S2000 Modulo Climax (exhibition model), an S2000-based concept model featuring cutting-edge aeroform design and a chic interior coordinated in black and burgundy. Models on exhibit will include the MUGEN CR-V Design Study, a CR-V-based concept model presenting a new design, and the CR-Z MUGEN RZ, a MUGEN vehicle sold commercially as a complete car limited to 300 vehicles.

Honda?s motorcycle exhibit will present the GOLDWING F6B unveiled at EICMA 2012 (70th International Motorcycle Exhibition) in Italy in November and planned for commercial production. Customized vehicles derived from such models as the CB1300 SUPER FOUR<ABS>Special Edition and the NC700X will also be on display featuring aftermarket parts and accessories.

Honda?s racing vehicle exhibit will present the RC213V motorcycle, an essential contributor to Honda?s team and constructors? championships in the 2012 MotoGP, the highest class in the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix. Two cars from the SUPER GT Series, the HSV-010 GT and the MUGEN CR-Z GT, will also be appearing as well as the DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING machine that won the 2012 Formula NIPPON team championship.

*1- Organized by the TOKYO AUTO SALON ASSOSIATION (TASA) with the cooperation of the Nippon Auto Parts Aftermarket Committee (NAPAC)
*2- Modulo: Brand name for customized products made by Honda Access Corporation, the manufacturer of genuine Honda aftermarket parts and accessories
*3- MUGEN: Brand name used by M-TEC Co., Ltd., which conducts motor sports activities and develops, manufactures and sells tuned parts for Honda vehicles and complete cars

Key vehicles in the Honda exhibit

<Exhibition vehicles: concept models>

  • Automobiles
    N-ONE Modulo Style
    S2000 Modulo Climax
    Step WGN Modulo Style
    MUGEN Racing N-ONE Concept
    MUGEN CR-V Design Study

<Exhibition vehicles: racing vehicles>

  • Automobiles
    Super GT GT500 class: HSV-010 GT (AUTOBACS RACING TEAM AGURI)
    Super GT GT300 class: MUGEN CR-Z GT (TEAM MUGEN)
    Formula NIPPON : FN09 (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING)
  • Motorcycles
    MotoGP: RC213V (Repsol Honda Team)
    Isle of Man TT Races: EV Motorcycle SHINDEN (TEAM MUGEN)

<Accessorized vehicles (Production models)>

  • Automobiles
    N BOX Modulo X
    N BOX +
    N-ONE
    CR-Z MUGEN RZ
    MUGEN N-ONE
    MUGEN N-ONE Premium
  • Motorcycles
    CB1300 SUPER FOUR<ABS>Special Edition
    CB1100 Black Style<ABS>
    NC700X

<Other exhibition vehicles and products>

  • Automobiles
    N-ONE [Collaborative model in conjunction with the Japan Nailist Association (JNA), an incorporated nonprofit organization]
    VAMOS show model CANPACHI
    ACTY TRUCK show model VAMOTORA
  • Motorcycles
    GOLDWING F6B (planned for production)
    CBR250R<ABS> Special Edition (planned for production)
  • Power products
    Outboard engines
    BF250A
    BF2D

Source: http://www.autoreleased.com/honda-exhibit-at-tokyo-auto-salon-2013-with-napac/

news 12 world series giants Natina Reed Sandy Hurricane flight tracker Marina Krim

EURweb | Michael Jordan is Hopeful for Team Bobcats *The path to NBA team owner...

EURweb | Michael Jordan is Hopeful for Team Bobcats

*The path to NBA team ownership is a long, narrow one, where few have dared to follow and even fewer succeeded. But that doesn?t discourage former NBA superstar Michael Jordan from sticking to his ?

Source: http://www.facebook.com/EURWeb/posts/10151338533613151

indonesia quake stephen strasburg shabazz legion baby found alive in morgue rockies ashley judd

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Being a Single Mother in S. Korea - Omona They Didn&#39;t - LiveJournal

12-26-05-02

By Kim Young-Jin

Kim Jung-in (an alias), a public relations officer, knew it would be difficult to raise her one-month-old daughter alone. But determined to try, she ignored family members who pressured her to opt for adoption, just as they had told her to have an abortion.

?I was confident I could get a job and take care of her on my own,? recalled Kim, 36, of the turbulent period four years ago. ?But I needed time to find work and persuade my parents I could do that.?

Time and understanding, she would find, were not on her side.

Kim met her boyfriend while working abroad for a Korean firm. They wanted to marry but her family would not give their blessing without meeting the prospective groom first. After they learned she was pregnant, the man convinced her to quit her job, saying he could support her.

But the man?s business fell through, and with scant resources, he convinced Kim to return to Korea unmarried. Despite promises to follow her, he vanished.

She ended up in Busan with her parents, who shunned her for giving birth out of wedlock ? a common response in Korean society. ?My mother cooked meals for me, but not for my baby,? she recalled. ?My father did not accept me as part of the family. I ran out of places to turn to.?

Choi Hyeong-sook, an unwed mother and activist, plays with her son at a
park in central Seoul, Sunday. / Korea Times photo by Kim Young-jin

Kim may have been alone, but her story is not uncommon in a country where stigmatization and a lack of social services force many women to choose between abortion and adoption. While single mothers have raised their profile in recent years, groups supporting them say that the government must provide them with a safety net and begin to set straight a painful history.

The issue may be set to go under the spotlight as Korea prepares for its first female president, Park Geun-hye, who has promised to improve conditions for women. Support groups say whether Park pays attention to single mothers will be a bellwether of how thoroughly she plans to follow through on this pledge.

As yet, the President-elect?s team has not made specific policies for single mothers and they are not mentioned in its policy book of over 300 pages.

?Right now, they are included in the policies for single parents,? said an official from the policy committee of Park's Saenuri Party, requesting anonymity. ?Once the transition committee is launched, it is possible that the issues of unmarried mothers can be discussed there.?

Entrenched attitudes

12-26-05-03-1
Choi Hyeong-sook, an unwed mother and activist, plays with her son at a
park in central Seoul, Sunday.

The path for Kim to keep her child was precarious. In need of work, she jumped when she heard of a job in Seoul. But with her family refusing to babysit, she made what she felt was a necessary gamble, leaving the child in the care of an adoption agency, with the promise that if potential adoptive parents were interested, she would be called.

She soon received a text message from a social worker informing her that an adoption had been finalized. ?I cried a lot that I wanted my baby, but I was told it was impossible. After fighting for three months I got her back.?

According to Statistics Korea, some 2.1 percent of babies were born outside of marriage last year, the lowest rate among member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and well below the OECD average of 36.3 percent.

Some 90 percent of Korean babies adopted internationally are from single mothers, seen as representative of the social pressures facing unmarried, pregnant women.

Han Seo Seung-hee, who works with the Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network (KUMSN), believes the attitude stems from deeply ingrained Confucian mores. ?Society thinks they are immoral,? she said. The attitude prevails in spite of concerns over the nation?s aging population. Moreover, social stigma against mothers who have children out of wedlock is underpinned by the specific expression in the Korean language referring to them, ?Mi-hon-mo?, often used a pejorative term.

Lee Jung-hee, a 31-year-old teacher in Gyeonggi Province, said people treated her differently when she decided after breaking up with her boyfriend, the father.

?You can?t tell people at work, or you have to lie to them. It?s like you are a criminal,? she said.

Even at the hospital, where she received care under her insurance program, the doctor ?suddenly turned really cold? when Lee said the father might not be present at birth. Other hospital officials asked why she did not go to a care center for single mothers.

?That?s when I realized, if you become a single mother in this country, it doesn?t matter if you have a family, if you have a good job or education, or who you are. You just become the bottom of society. People treat you like crap,? she said.

Han said on the national census, if a woman reports being unmarried, it neglects to ask whether she has children. Others point out that existing cash support reinforces the separation of families and institutional help rather than empowering women to raise their children alone.

According to numbers compiled by Truth and Reconciliation for the Adoption Community of Korea (TRACK), the government provides around 1 million won for each child in a family group home facility or an orphanage; and 250,000 won for every child in foster care. Korean families who adopt are supported with a 100,000 stipend. But single parents, including unwed and divorced parent receive 50,000 per month.

Lee, the teacher, didn?t want to be institutionalized in a group home.

?If you stay in such a place for a year, or two, or three, how do you ever start over again? Someone like me ? a professional ? if I get a little support from the government, I can get back on my feet and I am willing to work,? she said.

The monthly support for single parents falls well short of considering unexpected circumstances, Lee learned. Soon after birth, her son was diagnosed with Hirschsprung's disease, a disorder of the abdomen that required surgery.

Through support from KUMSN, she has been able to hire a babysitter, but her son?s frequent illness poses a problem for her work schedule.

Kim Jung-in, the public relations worker, said stigmatization does not stop with the mother. ?Most families don?t want to have get-togethers with single mothers and their children,? she said.

Reconciling the past, looking ahead

Jane Jeong Trenka, head of TRACK, said the high percentage of international adoptees that comes from unwed mothers binds the two groups together.

International adoptions from Korea picked up pace during the country?s rapid industrialization under the military dictatorship of Park Chung-hee, the late father of President-elect Park. Many such adoptees return to Korea to learn about the country or search for their birth parents.

Some scholars suggest that like other exports of human resources during that era, babies, especially those born out of wedlock, may have been seen as a tidy source of profit.

?The unwed mothers and their children are woven inextricably into the history of Korea's development,? said Trenka, an adoptee.

She said the stories of the families of adoptees reveal a ?complete lack of a social safety net and of course patriarchal practices which include intense discrimination by the society and the government against single mothers and their children.?

In recent years, grassroots awareness campaigns have helped bring the issue to light. Last year, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Single Parent Law that by 2015 will ban adoption agencies from owning facilities for unwed mothers, which activists say will reduce the influence of the agencies in the women?s decision-making process.

Groups such as KUMSN say now is the time for the government to devise policies to shore up services.

The advocates say efforts must go beyond Park?s promise to increase cash support from 50,000 won to 150,000 won and bolster housing for single parents.

Activist Han said the government can start by collecting accurate statistics on unwed mothers, because it is believed many women do not report their status. KUMSN urges the incoming administration to consider diversifying housing options, tightening regulations over adoption practices, and providing better education for pregnant, unwed women on their options.

The government should mobilize a public awareness campaign to educate society on unwed women, the group says.

Lee, the mother, says the reasons women like her and their children should be treated as normal members of society are simple.

?I pay taxes, first of all. And then every child has the right to be happy,? she said.

?I gave birth to a kid, and he is going to grow up and work for this country. We can raise these kids and make them happy. People need to be open minded, not just for me, but for the children.?

Source: The Korea Times

Interesting read. ?

Source: http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/10329433.html

margaret sanger paul george eddie long ufc 143 weigh ins micron ceo glenn miller who do you think you are

In 2012, we turned to Wikipedia to learn about ... Facebook?

47 min.

Unlike most major Internet brands, Wikipedia had no year-end top-10 list to share. But that's not to say there isn't a list of most viewed Wikipedia articles of 2012. It took a software engineer with a bit of spare time to gather up the data, and share the results, equal parts predictable and off-the-wall.?What does this list say about us?

Based on?Johan Gunnarsson's analysis of Wikipedia logs, it seems that?the most viewed articles on the English version of Wikipedia are lined up as follows:

  • 1. Facebook - 32,647,942 views
  • 2.?Wiki -?29,613,759?views
  • 3.?Deaths in 2012 -?25,418,587?views
  • 4.?One Direction -?22,351,637?views
  • 5.?The Avengers (2012 film) -?22,268,644?views
  • 6.?Fifty Shades of Grey -?21,779,423?views
  • 7.?2012 phenomenon -?20,619,920?views
  • 8.?The Dark Knight Rises -?18,882,885?views
  • 9.?Google -?18,508,719?views
  • 10.?The Hunger Games -?18,431,626?views

While we're not surprised to see iconic pop culture phenomena like musical sensation One Direction, the all-star movie?"The?Avengers," the risque literary?trilogy "Fifty Shades of Grey" and of course the?inescapable "Hunger Games" series?appear,?we did scratch our heads about Facebook and Google, and ... "Wiki"?

Wikimedia spokesman Jay Walsh explained the popularity of these items to All Things D's Liz Gannes as likely being due to users who might type "Facebook" or similar into a search engine built into "their browsers intending to go to the site and end up on Wikipedia."?Either that, he says, or there's simply "general, high-level interest and curiosity" about the history of some of these websites and services.

We'll buy the accidental typing explanation over the "high-level of?interest" one.

While most of the top 100 most-viewed?English Wikipedia articles centered around pop culture and current events, some articles raise eyebrows for feeling a bit out of place. Entries on the Illuminati (No. 33), elocution (No. 34)?and g-forces (No. 83)?cropped up on the heels of expected entries like Mitt Romney (No. 22) and?Justin Bieber (No. 25).

The more immature individuals among us may find it amusing that entries on sex (No. 18) and human penis size (No. 82) made it into the list of 100?most viewed.?Android fanboys may flaunt the fact that an article about the mobile operating system hit the list at No. 70, while no entries about iOS made it into the top 100. (Though Steve Jobs did come in at No. 64.)

At least some people were using Wikipedia for its intended purpose, to cheat on homework assignments: Historical topics from?Albert Einstein (No. 98)?to the Hatfield-McCoy feud (No. 91) pepper the list.

When looking at the?most viewed articles in languages other than English, we find that the obsession with major Web properties and pop culture extends beyond their idiom of origin. Facebook led the Spanish top 10, which also includes One Direction. German language readers were particularly interested in the?TV shows "How I Met Your Mother," "The Big Bang Theory," "Two And A Half Men," and "Game Of Thrones" ? all which made it into their top 10.

And speaking of Bieber,?those with an irrational dislike for the teen?heartthrob may find it comforting to know that he?only made the top 10 in Norwegian and Danish. He failed to reach single digits in any other language, and sits at No. 25 on the list of the most viewed English Wikipedia articles.

"Gangnam Style," the ear-worm that beat Bieber's "Baby" to?a billion views on YouTube, appears to have only made it onto one top-100 list?? the English one ? taking the No. 21 spot with a mere?13,129,876 views.

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/2012-we-turned-wikipedia-learn-about-facebook-1C7753895

ground hogs day 2012 goundhog day punxsutawney facebook ipo facebook ipo egypt soccer riot mike kelley

Dr. Oz descends further into psychic quackery ? Respectful Insolence

Regular readers have probably noticed that I?m taking it easy this week, at least compared to my usual ridiculous level of output. It is, after all, the holidays, and last night I even went to see my cousin?s son play basketball and then hung out at the local Knights of Columbus hall. (No, it didn?t spontaneously explode upon my entering it.) I?ll get back to regular blogging after the 1st of the year. Between now and then I?ll be uncharacteristically mellow and brief, because even a clear Plexiglass box of blinking lights needs a break now and then to recharge the ol? Tarial cells. Not that it?s actually much of a rest, but a redistribution of effort to grant writing, from which blog posts are a brief respite.

None of this stops me, however, from being annoyed by certain things even now. For example, I was sitting there, as so often happens, an ad for Dr. Oz?s TV show popped up. It?s been a while since I?ve paid much attention to Dr. Oz, who basically jumped the shark when he declared ?ber-quack Dr. Joe Mercola a ?pioneer? in alternative medicine when from my view the only thing Mercola is a ?pioneer? in is using the Internet to make money off of credulous marks with more money and distrust of science than sense and then let the shark eat whatever scientist was left in him when he decided that faith healing actually works and that John Edward could really talk to the dead.

Apparently Dr. Oz, not satisfied with having become the biggest and richest supporter of quackery in existence, his fame given a jump start by Oprah?s woo-infused empire and then sustained by his apparent decision to ?integrate? pure quackery, pseudoscience, and mysticism with his vanishing focus on real medicine, has decided to embrace nonsense ever the more tightly, the better to provide more bread and circuses to his addled viewers. I suppose I shouldn?t be surprised, but this surprised even me, and in a way I was happy that I missed this when it aired the first time around. I?m referring to the episode set to air today in which Dr. Oz features the ?Long Island medium Theresa Caputo. As if this weren?t bad enough, Dr. Oz promotes her as somehow being able to help his viewers deal with anxiety by communicating with dead relatives on ?the other side.? Yes, in this case, Dr. Oz goes beyond dipping his toe in the water of pure nonsense to diving right in and swimming to the bottom of the cesspit of psychic scams.

Caputo describes herself thusly:

I began seeing spirit at age 4. I suffered from anxiety for years until my mom suggested I go to a spiritual healer/teacher. I went to see Pat Longo and that?s how I found out that I had the ability to communicate with spirit. I have been a practicing medium for over 10 years and a certified medium with the Forever-Family Foundation ? an organization dedicated to connecting science with the afterlife. People ask me to describe the process of receiving information. It?s hard for me to describe because I see, hear and feel things differently than we do in the physical world. My wish for every person I come in contact with, is that they receive a message that will give them healing and closure to embrace life without their loved ones.

Yes, Caputo appears to follow in the footsteps of a long line of ?psychic? scammers and mediums like John Edward and, of course, the ever-vile (or at least viler than most self-proclaimed psychics) Sylvia Browne. None of this stops Dr. Oz from entitling his segment, Can talking to the dead help end your anxiety? I could have made this the world?s shortest episode of The Dr. Oz Show by answering this simply, No.

Not Dr. Oz, who states multiple times in this segment that ?medicine doesn?t have all the answers? or ?doctors don?t have all the answers.? This is, of course, true. Doctors don?t always have all the answers, just as science doesn?t know everything. But as Dara O?Briain puts it, ?Just because science doesn?t know everything doesn?t mean you can fill in the gaps with whatever fairy tale most appeals to you.? Yet that?s exactly what Dr. Oz is doing here: Inserting a belief that a cheesy Long Island woman with bleach blond helmet hair and a fake tan can talk to the dead for science and reason.

As has become the formula for Oz shows that feature psychics and various claimants to paranormal powers, Dr. Oz starts off with a purely credulous segment introducing her, chats with her a bit. This time around, he doesn?t seem to express even the perfunctory claim of ?skepticism? that he normally does (and did, for instance, with John Edward). He simply declares her ?amazing? and wonders if she can help cure anxiety with her claimed ability to speak with a person?s dead relatives.

Next comes the testimonial. we?re introduced to a woman named Deanna who discusses having crippling anxiety, which she attributed to not knowing what?s on the other side. Declaring herself a ?skeptic? going in (don?t they all?), she tells her story, which is lame even by the usual lame standards of psychic tricks. Basically, she says that before her session with Theresa, she prayed to her dead uncle Tony, asking him to tell Theresa the name of a movie, so that she would believe in life after death. The name of the movie? Goodfellas. Amazingly, Theresa apparently managed to name the movie. Anyone want to bet that she did it after the usual psychic cold reading routine? In response, Dr. Oz repeated his mantra that ?we don?t have all the answers in medicine,? adding, ?and so, if there are other options that might be effective?and I don?t have to understand why they work as a doctor?but if there are things that could be helpful to you and particularly to get through a huge problem like anxiety, I think we should stretch our minds out.?

Apparently Dr. Oz has stretched his mind out to the point where its rationality has snapped. Either that, or he knows this is all nonsense and is pandering to his audience. Take your pick. I don?t know which is worse for a doctor: To be completely credulous or to be in on the con.

Next up, of course, are psychic readings, courtesy of Caputo. (You knew this was coming, didn?t you?) It?s the usual cold reading drivel that we?ve seen time and time again from psychics innumerable. Caputo asks a woman whose sister died if it was something to do with the ?heart, lungs, or breast.? All of these are likely to be the top three causes of death in a woman who is relatively young and didn?t die a traumatic death (which Caputo appeared to know in advance). Almost anything that causes death is likely to impact the heart and lungs before the end, and if the woman happened to have died of cancer then breast cancer is the most likely culprit. It turns out that the woman?s sister died of a severe asthma attack that apparently collapsed one or both lungs. Caputo then asks the woman whether her sister took her asthma medication, giving the reason that her sister told her that her passing might have been prevented because ?we knew better.? Caputo then tells her that her sister said that her passing was ?instant? and that she didn?t suffer, which sounds to me like complete nonsense. Caputo has obviously never seen someone die of respiratory failure due to asthma. It is almost never instant, and it frequently involves a long period of intense air hunger and shortness of breath. It is not pleasant.

Of course, what psychics are about is giving the living what they want, and that?s exactly what Caputo does. She tells the woman that her sister wants her to let go of her guilt over her sister?s death. That?s why she told the woman that her sister didn?t suffer when she died. That?s why she provides messages of love from beyond and assurance that there really, really is an afterlife. Consider this. When have you ever seen or heard a psychic tell someone like this woman that her dead relative is in hell, hates her, or blames her for her death? I?ve never heard that, although obviously just because I haven?t heard it doesn?t mean it doesn?t occasionally happen. If it does, though, it must be rare. That?s not what people want to hear from psychics. No! They want to hear that there is a happy, gauzy afterlife where their loved ones now reside, and that all conflicts, guilt, and anger that might have existed in life are now gone. They want to hear that the dead have forgiven them, and that?s what Caputo delivers, just like every other psychic medium scammer out there. She even goes on to tell this woman that her dead father, who apparently died several months before her sister did, knows that she was there with him when he died and that she held his hand as he passed away.

And Dr. Oz falls for it once again, jumping in to ask the woman if this experience was helping her or hurting her. Meanwhile, the second testimonial is a woman who was terrified to go to see a doctor because she was afraid of learning she had heart disease and whose father refused to see a doctor and ended up dying suddenly of heart disease. It?s more of the same, with Caputo empathizing and cold reading and assuring the woman that her father is ?fine? and that her father is assuring her that she?s okay and will be okay if she takes care of herself. Later, during audience questions, Caputo reassures another woman that her father knew she was holding him as he took his last breath.

It?s sad, really. Whenever I think Dr. Oz can?t go any lower, he inevitably proves me wrong. The only thing that Dr. Oz is likely to have achieved here is to publicize yet another psychic scam (which is what Caputo is), such that Caputo will likely be able to increase her charges beyond the already exorbitant $400 for a half hour session that she already charges. I don?t think that it can be repeated too often: Either Dr. Oz is completely credulous and believes this stuff, or he knows it?s a scam and is cynically promoting it anyway, pandering to the lowest common denominator of his audience. I can?t think of a third option right now.

Source: http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2012/12/28/dr-oz-descends-further-into-psychic-quackery/

jeff fisher van der sloot heather locklear mlk memorial mlk memorial heather locklear hospitalized joplin tornado

Friday, December 28, 2012

Boatracs and KVH Industries Announce Strategic Partnership to ...

Boatracs and KVH Industries Announce Strategic Partnership to Provide End-to-End Global Broadband Solution to Maritime Market


San Diego, California (PRWEB) April 24, 2012

Boatracs Inc., a leader in providing integrated satellite communications and software solutions to the maritime industry, and KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), a leading provider of in-motion satellite TV and communication systems, are collaborating to deliver an end-to-end mini-VSAT Broadband(SM) solution for small to medium sized businesses in the commercial workboat and fishing markets.

Sold through Boatracs, the Boatracs mini-VSAT Fleet Management Solution includes a TracPhone? V3 (to be called the Boatracs mini-VSAT V3), for global broadband connectivity as well as Boatracs web-based fleet management platform, Boatracs BTConnect?. Boatracs other maritime software products will also be available including BTForms, an electronic forms solution that automates and simplifies vessel data collection for operations, reporting and compliance record keeping. This new solution will be made available and supported through KVH and Boatracs loyal certified dealer network.

We are very excited to partner with an innovative top-tier company like KVH to integrate the award winning TracPhone? mini-VSAT Broadband system with Boatracs software solutions for the commercial maritime market, said Irwin Rodrigues, President and CEO of Boatracs. With increased regulatory compliance reporting and heightened competition, the needs of our customers have evolved dramatically over the past few years. Were seeing a growing need for simple yet highly effective integrated solutions that drive operational efficiencies, vessel productivity and compliance. The Boatracs mini-VSAT Fleet Management Solution meets these requirements in an affordable package through a single provider known in the industry for reliable service and a dedication to customer support.

The TracPhone V3 is the worlds smallest maritime VSAT antenna, designed for vessels as small as 30 feet. With airtime rates 1/10th the cost of L-band systems, the mini-VSAT network offers downloads as fast as 2Mbps at $ 0.99 per MB and phone calls worldwide at only $ 0.49 per minute. The benefits of the product have changed the game for satellite communications since being introduced by KVH in February 2011 due to its small size, fast data rates and affordable service. Powered by the largest VSAT network in the world, Boatracs unique offering will enable commercial maritime owners and operators to justify the need for reliable satellite communications on board their fleets of vessels.????

Boatracs BTConnect? is a web-based solution that integrates message and mapping functionality, providing access to fleet-wide data from anywhere on any device. With features such as route planning, custom landmarks and global map layers, BTConnect ties together the critical functions of visually managing a fleet with two-way messaging to improve dispatching, accelerate invoicing and streamline shore side operations.

KVH and Boatracs share the vision of making broadband accessible to small and medium fleets as critical software applications continue to drive the need for increased bandwidth, said Brent C. Bruun, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development at KVH Industries. By offering this combination of leading products and services in a turnkey package, workboat and commercial fishing companies can implement a high-speed voice and data service and be realizing the benefits of fleet management software immediately. We are pleased to partner with Boatracs as a demonstrated leader of integrated satellite communications solutions.

About Boatracs

Boatracs is the leading provider of integrated satellite communications and software solutions for the commercial maritime industry. Since 1990 Boatracs has been providing customers the industrys most proven, reliable, and simple solutions on the market. Boatracs now offers multiple communications solutions ranging from its core Qualcomm OmniTRACS product line to newer multi-mode broadband and voice capabilities, all powered by Boatracs web-based messaging and mapping software to provide access to fleet-wide data from anywhere on any device. Today Boatracs delivers products, services and 24/7/365 live customer support to offshore, inland, commercial fishing and government markets increasing operating efficiencies for thousands of vessels across North America. The company has offices in California and Louisiana. For more information, please visit us at: http://www.boatracs.com

About KVH Industries, Inc.

KVH Industries, Inc., is the leading provider of in-motion satellite TV and communications systems, having designed, manufactured, and sold more than 150,000 mobile satellite antennas for applications on vessels, vehicles, and aircraft. In March 2012, Euroconsult reported that KVH was the market share leader in global maritime VSAT. KVHs mission is to connect mobile customers around the globe with the same digital television entertainment, communications, and Internet services that they enjoy in their homes and offices. The company is based in Middletown, RI, with facilities in Illinois, Denmark, Norway, and Singapore. For more information please visit: http://www.kvh.com

More TV Entertainment Press Releases

Source: http://www.cardifffilmfestival.co.uk/boatracs-and-kvh-industries-announce-strategic-partnership-to-provide-end-to-end-global-broadband-solution-to-maritime-market/

greg oden st patricks day st. bonaventure ira glass march madness swain match day

Over the fiscal cliff: Soft or hard landing?

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Efforts to save the nation from going over a year-end "fiscal cliff" were in disarray as lawmakers fled the Capitol for their Christmas break. "God only knows" how a deal can be reached now, House Speaker John Boehner declared.

President Barack Obama, on his way out of town himself, insisted a bargain could still be struck before Dec. 31. "Call me a hopeless optimist," he said.

A look at why it's so hard for Republicans and Democrats to compromise on urgent matters of taxes and spending, and what happens if they fail to meet their deadline:

___

NEW YEAR'S HEADACHE

Partly by fate, partly by design, some scary fiscal forces come together at the start of 2013 unless Congress and Obama act to stop them. They include:

? Some $536 billion in tax increases, touching nearly all Americans, because various federal tax cuts and breaks expire at year's end.

? About $110 billion in spending cuts divided equally between the military and most other federal departments. That's about 8 percent of their annual budgets, 9 percent for the Pentagon.

Hitting the national economy with that double whammy of tax increases and spending cuts is what's called going over the "fiscal cliff." If allowed to unfold over 2013, it would lead to recession, a big jump in unemployment and financial market turmoil, economists predict.

___

WHAT IF THEY MISS THE DEADLINE?

If New Year's Day arrives without a deal, the nation shouldn't plunge onto the shoals of recession immediately. There still might be time to engineer a soft landing.

So long as lawmakers and the president appear to be working toward agreement, the tax hikes and spending cuts could mostly be held at bay for a few weeks. Then they could be repealed retroactively once a deal was reached.

The big wild card is the stock market and the nation's financial confidence: Would traders start to panic if Washington appeared unable to reach accord? Would worried consumers and businesses sharply reduce their spending? In what could be a preview, stock prices around the world dropped Friday after House Republican leaders' plan for addressing the fiscal cliff collapsed.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has warned lawmakers that the economy is already suffering from the uncertainty and they shouldn't risk making it worse by blowing past their deadline.

___

WHAT IF THEY NEVER AGREE?

If negotiations between Obama and Congress collapse completely, 2013 looks like a rocky year.

Taxes would jump $2,400 on average for families with incomes of $50,000 to $75,000, according to a study by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. Because consumers would get less of their paychecks to spend, businesses and jobs would suffer.

At the same time, Americans would feel cuts in government services; some federal workers would be furloughed or laid off, and companies would lose government business. The nation would lose up to 3.4 million jobs, the Congressional Budget Office predicts.

"The consequences of that would be felt by everybody," Bernanke says.

___

THE TAXES

Much of the disagreement surrounds the George W. Bush-era income tax cuts, and whether those rates should be allowed to rise for the nation's wealthiest taxpayers. Both political parties say they want to protect the middle-class from tax increases.

Several tax breaks begun in 2009 to stimulate the economy by aiding low- and middle-income families are also set to expire Jan. 1. The alternative minimum tax would expand to catch 28 million more taxpayers, with an average increase of $3,700 a year. Taxes on investments would rise, too. More deaths would be covered by the federal estate tax, and the rate climbs from 35 percent to 55 percent. Some corporate tax breaks would end.

The temporary Social Security payroll tax cut also is due to expire. That tax break for most Americans seems likely to end even if a fiscal cliff deal is reached, now that Obama has backed down from his call to prolong it as an economic stimulus.

___

THE SPENDING

If the nation goes over the fiscal cliff, budget cuts of 8 percent or 9 percent would hit most of the federal government, touching all sorts of things from agriculture to law enforcement and the military to weather forecasting. A few areas, such as Social Security benefits, Veterans Affairs and some programs for the poor, are exempt.

___

THERE'S MORE AT STAKE

All sorts of stuff could get wrapped up in the fiscal cliff deal-making. A sampling:

? Some 2 million jobless Americans may lose their federal unemployment aid. Obama wants to continue the benefits extension as part of the deal; Republicans say it's too costly.

? Social Security recipients might see their checks grow more slowly. As part of a possible deal, Obama and Republican leaders want to change the way cost-of-living adjustments are calculated, which would mean smaller checks over the years for retirees who get Social Security, veterans' benefits or government pensions.

? The price of milk could double. If Congress doesn't provide a fix for expiring dairy price supports before Jan. 1, milk-drinking families could feel the pinch. One scenario is to attach a farm bill extension to the fiscal cliff legislation ? if a compromise is reached in time.

? Millions of taxpayers who want to file their 2012 returns before mid-March will be held up while they wait to see if Congress comes through with a deal to stop the alternative minimum tax from hitting more people.

___

CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF?

In theory, Congress and Obama could just say no to the fiscal cliff, by extending all the tax cuts and overturning the automatic spending reductions in current law. But both Republicans and Democrats agree it's time to take steps to put the nation on a path away from a future of crippling debt.

Indeed, the automatic spending cuts set for January were created as a last-ditch effort to force Congress to deal with the debt problem.

If Washington bypassed the fiscal cliff, the next crisis would be just around the corner, in late February or early March, when the government reaches a $16.4 trillion ceiling on the amount of money it can borrow.

Boehner says Republicans won't go along with raising the limit on government borrowing unless the increase is matched by spending cuts to help attack the long-term debt problem. Failing to raise the debt ceiling could lead to a first-ever U.S. default that would roil the financial markets and shake worldwide confidence in the United States.

To avoid that scenario, Obama and Boehner are trying to wrap a debt limit agreement into the fiscal cliff negotiations.

___

SO WHAT'S THE HOLDUP?

They're at loggerheads over some big questions.

Obama says any deal must include higher taxes for the wealthiest Americans. Many House Republicans oppose raising anyone's tax rates. Boehner tried to get the House to vote for higher taxes only on incomes above $1 million but dropped the effort when it became clear he didn't have the votes.

Republicans also insist on deeper spending cuts than Democrats want to make. And they want to bring the nation's long-term debt under control by significantly curtailing the growth of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security ? changes that many Democrats oppose.

Obama, meanwhile, wants more temporary economic "stimulus" spending to help speed up a sluggish recovery. Republicans say the nation can't afford it.

___

IT'S NOT JUST WASHINGTON

Seems like they could just make nice, shake hands and split their differences, right?

But there's a reason neither side wants to give ground. The two parties represent a divided and inconsistent America. True, Obama just won re-election. But voters also chose a Republican majority in the House.

Republican and Democrats alike say they are doing what the voters back home want.

Neither side has a clear advantage in public opinion. In an Associated Press-GfK poll, 43 percent said they trust the Democrats more to manage the federal budget deficit and 40 percent preferred the Republicans. There's a similar split on who's more trusted with taxes.

About half of Americans support higher taxes for the wealthy, the poll says, and about 10 percent want tax increases all around. Still, almost half say cutting government services, not raising taxes, should be the main focus of lawmakers as they try to balance the budget.

When asked about specific budget cuts being discussed in Washington, few Americans express support for them.

___

THE COUNTDOWN

Time for deal-making is short, thanks to the holiday and congressional calendars. Some key dates for averting the fiscal cliff:

? Lawmakers aren't expected to return to the Capitol until Thursday, leaving less than a week to vote on a compromise before year's end.

? Obama and his family also left town for a Christmas vacation in Hawaii. The president said because the fiscal cliff was still unresolved, he would return to Washington this week.

? If lawmakers reach Dec. 31 without a deal, some economists worry that the financial markets might swoon.

? The current Congress is in session only through noon Eastern time on Jan. 3. After that, a newly elected Congress with 13 new senators and 82 new House members would inherit the problem.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Kuhnhenn, Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor and Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

___

Follow Connie Cass on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ConnieCass

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/over-fiscal-cliff-soft-hard-landing-082737436.html

josh hutcherson google april fools office space shell houston open

Thursday, December 27, 2012

NY fire ambush survivors: We're 'humbled'

By NBC News staff and wire reports

Two firefighters who survived an ambush gun attack in Upstate New York that killed two of their colleagues said Thursday they were "humbled and a bit overwhelmed" by well wishes in the wake of the tragedy.

West Webster volunteer firefighters Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino, who had been in guarded condition, were upgraded to satisfactory condition on Wednesday at Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital.

As authorities investigated how William Spengler, 62, opened fire on the volunteers responding to a blaze in Webster early Monday,?the hospital released a statement from the survivors.

The pair said their "thoughts and prayers" were with the families of their colleagues Michael Chiapperini, 43, and Tomasz Kaczowka, 19, who were shot dead at the scene.

The pair are "humbled and a bit overwhelmed by the outpouring of well wishes for us and our families," the statement said.?

Spengler, a convicted felon who killed his own grandmother in 1980, shot himself as seven houses burned around him.

'Multiple firemen down'
"We are being shot at," an unidentified voice told a 911 dispatcher in a recording aired Wednesday on NBC's TODAY. "Multiple firemen down. Multiple firemen are shot. I am shot. I think he is using an assault rifle."

Hofstetter and Scardino were shot during the chaos. One was struck by a bullet in the pelvis and the other in the chest and knee,?NBCNewYork.com reported.?

Cops said Spengler left a three-page typewritten note saying he wanted to burn down the neighborhood and "do what I like doing best, killing people."

?He was equipped to go to war, kill innocent people," Webster Police Chief Gerald Pickering told reporters Tuesday.

The?Rochester Democrat and Chronicle said Wednesday?that the funeral for Chiapperini, who was a 20-year veteran of the Webster Police Department, will be Sunday, while a funeral Mass for Kaczowka, who graduated from high school last year, will be held in Rochester at 10 a.m. ET Monday.

Spengler had lived in the house with his sister and his mother, Arline, who died in October at 91. Arline Spengler's obituary asked that memorial donations be made to the West Webster Fireman's Association.

Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com

A former neighbor told the Associated Press that Spengler "loved his mama to death" and that he "couldn't stand" his sister. The neighbor said he thought Spengler "went crazy" after his mother died.

Spengler was convicted of manslaughter in 1981 after the death of his grandmother, Rose Spengler, 92, and was paroled in 1998. He remained under parole supervision until 2006, the Democrat and Chronicle reported. Before Monday's shooting, Webster police hadn't had any run-ins with Spengler since he was paroled, they said.

Police investigating the killings said Tuesday that they had found what appeared to be human remains at the gunman's home. Authorities said they believed the remains were those of Spengler?s 67-year-old sister, Cheryl, who lived with him.

Although Spengler couldn't legally own firearms as a convicted felon, police said he was armed with a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver, a 12-gauge pump shotgun and a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle, the same kind used in the Newtown, Conn., school massacre earlier this month.

At least 33 people were displaced by the fire, which engulfed at least seven homes and a motor vehicle.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More content from NBCNews.com:

Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16185113-deadly-ny-fire-ambush-survivors-were-humbled?lite

blue ivy carter photos purple squirrel blade runner close encounters of the third kind norovirus beyonce and jay z baby droid 4

Branding Tip#33 from Greg McAfee, HVAC Business Consultant

Brand Your Company

Coca Cola? was just named the number one most valuable global brand of 2012 by brand consultancy firm, ?Interbrand?. It?s really no surprise as the renowned soda distributor spends more than $2.6 billion annually on advertising and has millions of fans spanning the globe.

Now you are probably thinking, ?They should be #1 since they spend that much?, right? However, $2.6 billion was about 6% of their total revenue for 2011.

What percentage of your revenue are you spending to brand your company?

Carry On!

Sincerely,

Greg McAfee
HVAC Business Consultant

www.gregmcafee.com

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Source: http://blog.jacksonsystems.com/branding-tip33-from-greg-mcafee-hvac-business-consultant/

Gabriel Aubry halle berry notre dame notre dame football cyber monday deals small business saturday small business saturday

Monday, December 24, 2012

popbestline4: The Truth About Article Marketing | Writing and ...

It seems as though article marketing is the biggest thing in Internet marketing right now. How do you get your name out there? Articles. How do you become an expert in your niche? Articles. How do you [insert money making phrase here]? Articles. But why? And how?

?You Should Believe Me Because I Know All?

Well written articles are powerful things ? they demonstrate your expertise to readers better than any ad, website, or banner can. And once you?re considered an expert, people listen to you. If a licensed medical doctor told you that you should take aspirin every day to lower your risk of a heart attack, would you listen? Yes (Well, hopefully) What if you read an article in Newsweek that said the UK was going to convert to using the Euro, would you believe it? Yes. Why? Because they?re experts on those subjects, and they say so. That?s the power articles can give you.

Author Resource Boxes Are The Trail Of Reese?s Pieces Leading Back To The Author?s Website

Why do authors write articles? It?s not just to solidify their expert status. That status alone is pretty much worthless. You?ve got to give the reader a place to go when they?re done reading your article ? a place to find out more about the subject. If they?ve read the entire article, chances are, they want to learn more from you. Authors give their readers that chance by putting a link to a place where they can find more information in your resource box, aka ? the About the Author area. Think about the traffic you would get from a site with 500,000 subscribers or more, and feel free to make the Homer Simpson drool sound.

Googlebot Loves Candy [or] There?s A Reason Why It?s Called Inktomi Slurp?

Who else loves to read an entire article, then follow the link back to the author?s website? That?s right, search engines do. Search engine bots will follow your trail of Reese?s Pieces all the way back to your site, then chill out there and look around while they finish the rest of the bag.

Your Link, All Over The Internet

Now that your article with your link in the resource box is on the web, publishers can read it. If they like it, they can re-print it in newsletters, ezines, websites, all over the web. And what are your conditions? The publisher can?t change it, and they have to include that active link to your site. Now you have your link, all over the Internet.

Another added bonus of other sites reprinting your articles is SEO. If a site that ranks very high in the results for keywords related to your article picks it up, the chances of someone getting to your article through a search engine are high. This is kind of a round about way of getting search engine traffic, as some of those people will also follow the link in your resource box.

Where Can I Submit My Articles?

Yep. You can submit your article to individual article directories by hand, and get the job done. In fact, here is a great site that has around 100 directories listed on it:?http://www.arcanaweb.com/resources/article-directories.html

But even if you assume it will take 1 minute (that?s being very generous) per submission, that?s still over an hour and a half of work you?re doing to submit your article to only 100 sites.

Wow, That Sucks? Is there a better way?

Yep again. I use a service called Article Marketer (http://www.Article-Marketer.com) to submit my articles. They go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that publishers are only sent the highest quality work by weeding out spam, advertorials, and articles with bad grammar. In fact, since my articles aren?t spam, they?ll work with me to whip the article into shape, and ensure that I?ll get the most bang for my submission buck, and the publishers get the content they?re looking for.

Article Marketer can submit to roughly 30,000 publishers and article directories, and is very reasonably priced. If you?re about to publish a few articles, you have the choice of a low per article fee, or you can get a 3-month subscription and submit an unlimited number of articles. This choice is invaluable if I?m launching a few websites in a month and need to promote them all.

Best of all, it doesn?t take me hours, it takes me minutes. Using a submission service saves me time and effort, and it gets my articles out to places and people I never would have known about otherwise. Actually, I?m going to use Article-Marketer.com to submit this article, too. (By the time you read this, I?ll have already submitted this article through them, haha!)

Wow, You Really Know Your Stuff

I write articles for nearly every website that I create, and I see the benefits almost instantly when I submit a well-written article. (I also own my own article directory, so I know what it?s like to be on the receiving end, too)

Now that you know why article marketing is king, start writing. There are thousands of content-hungry publishers out there, ready to reprint your articles and make you an expert with TONS of Reese?s Pieces?

Source: http://www.writingspeakingtips.com/the-truth-about-article-marketing/

marijuana huffington post elizabeth warren puerto rico diane sawyer Cnn.com Colorado Marijuana

Source: http://popbestline4.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-truth-about-article-marketing.html

manson bubba watson recent earthquakes fbi most wanted list stuttering james van der beek dyngus day

Egypt opposition alleges vote fraud in referendum

Egyptian election workers count ballots at the end of the second round of a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of president Mohammed Morsi at a polling station in Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Egyptian election workers count ballots at the end of the second round of a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of president Mohammed Morsi at a polling station in Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

An Egyptian election worker shows his colleagues an invalid ballot while counting ballots at the end of the second round of a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of president Mohammed Morsi at a polling station in Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Egyptian election workers count ballots at the end of the second round of a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of president Mohammed Morsi at a polling station in Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Egyptian election workers unseal a ballot box for counting at the end of the second round of a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of president Mohammed Morsi at a polling station in Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

An Egyptian election worker counts ballots at the end of the second round of a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of president Mohammed Morsi at a polling station in Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

(AP) ? Egypt's opposition said Sunday it will keep fighting the Islamist-backed constitution after the Muslim Brotherhood, the main group backing the charter, claimed it passed with a 64 percent "yes" vote in a referendum.

The opposition alleged vote fraud and demanded an investigation ? a sign that the referendum will not end the turmoil that has roiled this country for nearly two years since the uprising that ousted authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak. Many Egyptians, especially the tens of millions who live in extreme poverty, had hoped the new constitution might usher in a period of more stability.

A heated political debate over the past month leading up to the referendum at times erupted into deadly street battles. There were no mass opposition demonstrations on Sunday after the unofficial results came out.

Renewed violence and political tensions have further imperiled Egypt's already precarious economy, reeling from dwindling resources and a cash-strapped government whose plans to borrow from the International Monetary Fund had to be pushed back because of the turmoil.

The finance ministry said Sunday the budget deficit reached $13 billion in the five months from July-November, about 4.5 percent higher compared to the same period last year.

Official results of the referendum are not expected until Monday. If the unofficial numbers are confirmed, it will be a victory Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who is from the Brotherhood.

But the opposition allegations look likely to prolong the fight. Beyond allegations of fraud, the opposition will likely challenge new laws issued on the basis of the constitution as well as Morsi's economic policies.

"The referendum is not the end game. It is only a battle in this long struggle for the future of Egypt," said the National Salvation Front, the main opposition group. "We will not allow a change to the identity of Egypt or the return of the age of tyranny."

The opposition claims the new constitution seeks to enshrine Islamic rule in Egypt and accuses the Islamists of trying to monopolize power.

Critics say it does not sufficiently protect the rights of women and minority groups and empowers Muslim clerics by giving them a say over legislation. Some articles were also seen as tailored to get rid of Islamists' enemies and undermine the freedom of labor unions.

The latest political battle began with Morsi's Nov. 22 decrees that gave him powers to protect the Islamist-dominated panel writing the constitution and dismiss the country's top prosecutor, a holdover from the Mubarak era.

Although Morsi subsequently rescinded the powers that gave him immunity from judicial oversight, his decision to replace the prosecutor general was viewed by many in the judiciary as trampling over their powers. Hundreds of prosecutors held a rally Sunday demanding the new, Morsi-appointed prosecutor general quit, days after he retracted his resignation claiming it was rendered under pressure.

The prosecutors said in a news conference that they will be on strike until he quits.

Scores of lawyers who support Morsi's decision held an earlier rally, demanding that the top prosecutor stay, and accusing the opposition of being "thugs."

One major concern in the aftermath of the constitutional turmoil is Egypt's deteriorating economy, which has been battered by the two years of turmoil and taken an added hit from renewed violence recently.

Adding to the anxiety, state television reported on Saturday amidst voting on the referendum that the central bank governor had resigned, then retracted the report. The governor turned up at a meeting of the government's economic team Sunday in an apparent attempt to quell nervousness over the state of the economy.

The government stressed the urgency of stability.

"The financial and economic situations are dire," government spokesman Alaa el-Hadidi said, according to comments published by the state news agency MENA. With the referendum behind, el-Hadidi said economic policies must be at the center of attention, adding that the government will work to improve the investment environment to attract foreign investors.

The government had to postpone a request for $4.8 billion of IMF loans, putting off unpopular tax increases and reforms to after the referendum for fear they would only stoke political tensions.

A day before the official results of the constitution are expected, the opposition front said it filed complaints to the country's top prosecutor and the election commission asking for an investigation.

"The results of the referendum are for sure because of the rigging, violations and mismanagement that characterized it," the National Salvation Front said.

It alleged the vote was marred by lack of complete judicial supervision, which led to overcrowding that pushed down the voting rate. It also charged there was interference by those who were supposed to be supervising the vote, with some instructing people to vote "yes." Many judges who traditionally supervise elections boycotted supervising the vote.

"We don't think the results reflect the true desires of the Egyptian people," Khaled Dawoud, the front's spokesman, told The Associated Press.

However, the Brotherhood insisted violations were limited and should not affect the referendum's integrity.

The Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood's political arm, said it hoped the passage of the constitution would be a "historic opportunity" to heal Egypt's divisions and launch a dialogue to restore stability and build state institutions.

If the violations are considered serious enough, there could be new votes in some areas that alter the results slightly.

The referendum was conducted in two stages with the first vote on Dec. 15 and the second on Saturday. The Muslim Brotherhood and some media outlets have accurately tallied the outcome of past elections by compiling numbers released by electoral officials at thousands of individual polling stations shortly after voting closes.

Turnout for the vote was 32 percent of Egypt's more than 51 million eligible voters, according to the Muslim Brotherhood. That was significantly lower than other elections since the uprising ended in February 2011. The opposition has pointed to the low turnout as well as allegations of violations in the voting to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the referendum.

The Brotherhood said 64 percent voted "yes" to the constitution in a tally of both stages of voting. For Saturday's second stage only, the Brotherhood said 71 percent of those who voted said "yes" with 99 percent of polling stations accounted for.

As expected, it was a jump from the first round of voting when about 56 percent said "yes." The provinces that voted in the second round were known for being a base for Brotherhood supporters.

Only about eight million of the 25 million Egyptians eligible to vote in the second stage ? a turnout of about 30 percent ? cast their ballots. Some 32 percent of eligible voters participated in the first round.

The Front said that regardless of the results, it welcomed the participation of many who rejected the constitution and refused to consider it a vote on Islamic law. The group vowed to continue to "democratically" work to change the constitution and praised the high turnout of women.

The Islamists say Islam is core to Egypt's identity and they view the constitution as a foundation to move forward, elect a parliament and build state institutions.

The new constitution will come into effect once official results are announced.

Once that happens, Morsi is expected to call for the election of parliament's lower chamber, the more powerful of the legislature's two houses, within two months.

The opposition said that even though it is challenging the results of the referendum, it will continue to prepare for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Until the lower chamber is elected, the normally toothless upper house, or Shura Council, will have legislative powers.

On Sunday, Morsi appointed 90 new members to the Islamist-controlled Shura Council as part of his efforts to make the council more representative. The new appointments included at least 30 Islamists and a dozen Christians. They also include eight women, four of them Christians.

The opposition front said it did not want its members nominated to the Shura Council, now made up of 270 members.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-23-Egypt/id-15f444327e42423f85773a413d93802e

gary johnson walking dead where do i vote dixville notch Remember Remember The 5th Of November African painted dogs What Time Do Polls Open

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Fungus responsible for 5 deaths in the wake of massive tornado

A fast growing, flesh-eating fungus killed 5 people following a massive tornado that devastated Joplin, Mo., according to two new studies based on genomic sequencing by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Health officials should be aware of infections caused by the fungus Apophysomyces, according to the studies, which tracked 13 people infected by the pathogen during the Class EF-5 tornado - the most powerful category - whose 200-plus mph winds plowed through Joplin on May 22, 2011, initially killing 160 and injuring more than 1,000.

The common fungus - which lives in soil, wood or water - usually has no effect on people. But once it is introduced deep into the body through a blunt trauma puncture wound, it can grow quickly if the proper medical response is not immediate, the studies said. Five of the 13 people infected through injuries suffered during the Joplin tornado died within two weeks.

"Increased awareness of fungi as a cause of necrotizing soft-tissue infections after a natural disaster is warranted ... since early treatment may improve outcomes," concluded one study published Dec. 6 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Using whole genome sequencing, which decoded the billions of chemical letters in the fungus' DNA, TGen scientists concluded that the Joplin infections represented the largest documented cluster of Apophysomyces infections, according to a study published Nov. 27 in the journal PLOS One.

"This is one of the most severe fungal infections that anyone's ever seen," said David Engelthaler, Director of Programs and Operations for TGen's Pathogen Genomics Division. Engelthaler was the senior author of the PLOS One study, and a contributing author of the NEJM study.

"We're able to apply the latest in science and technology to explore these strange and dangerous pathogens, like we've never been able to before," said Engelthaler, adding that this is the latest in a series of collaborations between CDC and TGen. "This is the first peek into the genome of this dangerous fungus."

Dr. Benjamin Park, chief of the Epidemiology Team at the CDC's Mycotic Diseases Branch, said the victims were infected when their injuries from the tornado were contaminated with debris from the storm, including gravel, wood and soil, as well as the aerosolized fungus.

Without the multiple and deep wounds caused the by the storm, cases involving fungal infection are rare, said Dr. Park, the senior author of the NEJM study and a contributing author of the PLOS One study. "A typical hospital might normally see one case in a year."

Engelthaler said Apophysomyces infections rapidly ravage the body, quickly sealing off capillaries, shutting off the blood supply and leaving tissue to rot. Physicians try to get ahead of the infection by surgically removing sections of dead, damaged or infected tissue, a process called debridement.

For example, Engelthaler said, one victim who suffered a deep wound to the upper right chest required a new titanium rib cage after the fungus rapidly destroyed skin and bones.

"It's unlike anything you've ever seen before," said Engelthaler, a former State of Arizona Epidemiologist and former Arizona Biodefense Coordinator. "It's unreal. It looks like there is no way this person can be alive."

The studies show the need for rapid and accurate identification of the exact mold causing an infection, since only two FDA-approved drugs - amphotericin B and posaconazole - are commonly used against mucormycetes, the group of molds that includes Apophysomyces and causes mucormycosis.

"It is not known whether the outcomes for these case patients would have been different if mucormycete-active agents had been used initially," said the NEJM study. "The timely diagnosis of mucormycosis is essential for guiding therapy, because the early initiation of appropriate anti-fungal medication and aggressive surgical debridement are associated with improved outcomes."

Both the NEJM and PLOS One studies said whole genome sequencing could lead to better diagnosis and a better understanding of this pathogen.

TGen's DNA sequencing identified Apophysomyces in all 13 of the Joplin cases. The DNA analysis also established that several strains of Apophysomyces were involved in the outbreak, giving scientists further clues that this fungus was well established in the area, and probably had been so for a long time.

"These disasters put us at risk for exposure to organisms that are around us, but don't normally cause disease," Engelthaler said. "There's clearly an entire world out there that we're not seeing on a regular basis. It takes a severe event like this tornado for us to come face-to-face with some of the more dangerous pathogens out there."

View the PLOS One paper here; View the NEJM paper here.

Source: http://www.interndaily.com/reports/Fungus_responsible_for_5_deaths_in_the_wake_of_massive_tornado_999.html

superbowl national anthem patriots vs giants super bowl superbowl halftime show jason wu for target underwood buffalo wings superbowl kick off time 2012

Classified Benghazi review sent to Congress (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/271652646?client_source=feed&format=rss

ryan braun bryce harper may day stoudemire jordan hill tony nominations dark knight trailer

Doodle Jump gets in the Holiday spirit with 5 new Christmas outfits

Doodle Jump gets in the Holiday spirit with 5 new Christmas outfits

The extremely popular iPhone and iPad game Doodle Jump as been updated with 5 new Christmas outfits, each of which comes with its own special ability. These outfits can be purchased in the Doodle Jump store for varying amounts of coins. Coins can collected in presents during gameplay or bought as in-app purchases.

The five new Christmas outfits include Super Santa, Elf, Frost, Scrooge, and Reindeer.

Super Santa gets twice as many coins in every present and costs 19,000 coins. All of Elf's presents are big and costs 15,000 coins. Frost is immune to being frozen by chill-breath and costs 3,000 coins. Scrooge can't be hurt by monsters and costs 7,000 coins. Lastly, Reindeer double jumps and costs 7,000 coins.

If you want to buy coins as an in-app purchase, you can get 120,000 coins for $19.99, 50,000 coins for $9.99, 20,000 coins for $4.99, or 1,000 coins for $0.99.

The basic Santa outfit that throws snowballs is still available for free.

Has anyone picked up this update, yet? Have you bought any of the new outfits?



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/Mb20Scn-fBg/story01.htm

gavin degraw gavin degraw alec time 100 bob beckel anna paquin warren buffett

Monday, December 17, 2012

New Obama offer moves toward Boehner

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama has agreed to curtail future cost-of-living increases for recipients of Social Security and softened his demand for higher taxes at upper income levels as part of accelerating negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner to avoid a "fiscal cliff," people familiar with the talks said Monday.

Speaking a few hours after Obama and Boehner met at the White House, these people said the president was now seeking a higher tax rate beginning at incomes over $400,000, up from the levels of $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples that were cornerstones of his successful campaign for re-election.

Obama's willingness to reduce future cost-of-living increases in Social Security, government retirement and numerous other programs marked another clear concession to Boehner, although it came with an asterisk. The president wants lower-income recipients to receive protection against any loss from scaling back future cost of living increases, these officials said.

Nor did Obama's offer include raising the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67, a Republican goal that has drawn particularly strong objections from Democratic liberals.

Several officials also said during the day that Boehner's offer late last week to accept higher tax rates included provisions that would mean higher taxes on investment income and dividends earned by wealthy Americans and also in the estate tax.

The people who described the talks did so on condition of anonymity, citing the secretive nature of the discussions.

The maneuvering is aimed at reaching an agreement that would include cancellation of a scheduled year-end hike in taxes for nearly all wage-earners as well as spending cuts at the Pentagon and in domestic programs across the government.

Economists inside and outside the government have warned that the combination of the two, set to begin at year's end, could send the economy into recession.

Other major issues are part of the negotiations. Without action by Congress, for example, long-term unemployment benefits will expire for millions at the end of the year, and doctors will face a cut in the payments they receive for treating Medicare patients.

Obama has also called for assistance for hard-pressed homeowners as well as fresh economic stimulus measures, and some Democrats want to include a sizeable amount of disaster aid in any legislation to offset the cost of Superstorm Sandy.

On other points, Obama's latest offer dropped his earlier proposal to extend a payroll tax cut due to expire at year's end, and he agreed to find more savings in government spending than in his earlier offer.

The new offer that was given to Boehner at the White House closed the gap between the two men considerably on a framework for a deal.

At the same time, with rank and file conservatives distressed about over higher taxes, aides to the Ohio Republican were quick to find fault with Obama's latest offer.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman, said that "a proposal that includes $1.3 trillion in revenue for only $930 billion in spending cuts cannot be considered balanced. We hope to continue discussions with the president so we can reach an agreement that is truly balanced and begins to solve out spending problems."

Earlier, at the White House, spokesman Jay Carney sidestepped when asked about curbing cost-of-living increases for benefit programs. The president "is prepared to make tough choices. He also understands that his bill will not, as written, likely be what the final compromise, if there is one, looks like," he said.

"But he insists and will insist before he signed anything that there is the balance that he seeks that is fair and that seniors aren't bearing the burden so that the wealthy bear less ? those who can afford it most bear less."

A spokesman for Boehner declined comment on the tax proposals.

Obama and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner met with Boehner and his top aides at the White House for less than an hour during the day. While neither side provided significant details, Republicans have made it clear in recent days that it is the president's turn to propose savings from Medicare and other benefit program following Boehner's agreement last week to let tax rates rise at incomes higher than $1 million.

Officials familiar with the talks said that under the Ohio Republican's proposal, the top tax rate on capital gains would go to 20 percent, up from the current 15 percent. The top rate on dividends also would climb, although it was not known what the new level would be, and the estate tax would also be adjusted to produce more government revenue.

Under current law, the top capital gains tax rate would rise to 20 percent automatically at the end of the year if the cuts enacted during George W. Bush's White House tenure were allowed to expire.

The tax on dividends would also rise. The estate tax would be 55 percent on estates after allowance for a $1 million exemption.

As the talks progress, Republicans across the party's spectrum are eager to turn public attention toward spending cuts, rather than remain bogged down in a politically debilitating debate about tax increases.

"Our problem isn't that we tax too little. It's that we spend too much! We must have serious spending cuts for a debt ceiling increase," tweeted Rep. Tom Price., R-Ga.

That was a reference to the third ingredient under negotiation as part of deal to prevent the economy from reaching the fiscal cliff ? an increase in the government's borrowing authority.

After a brush with the first-ever default by the Treasury in 2011, Obama is demanding that any fiscal cliff compromise give him authority to raise the current $16.4 trillion cap without a prior vote by Congress. Officials say that Boehner's most recent proposal would grant an increase equal to the size of any spending cuts, roughly $1 trillion under his own recommendations.

The speaker made his offer to Obama late last week, dropping his blanket opposition to the president's call for an increase in the tax rate paid on upper incomes. Obama's agreement to reduce his demand so it would affect incomes over $400,000 left the two sides closer, but short of agreement.

As part of the change, Obama is now seeking $1.2 trillion in additional revenue, down from $1.4 trillion that was in an offer he made several days ago.

Officials have said Boehner offered a total of $1 trillion in higher revenue, less than half of which would come this year, and the balance in 2013 as part of a bill to overhaul the tax code.

Some of the increased revenue to be provided immediately would come from setting the tax rate on income over $1 million at 39.5 percent, up from the current 35 percent. The balance would come from higher taxes on capital gains, dividends and other provisions.

The proposal to scale back cost-of-living increases is a regular at deficit reduction talks.

Obama tentatively agreed to back it more than a year ago in talks with Boehner that eventually collapsed, although he sought steps to shelter the lowest-income beneficiaries from its effects.

Democrats have said they would object much more strongly if the president would to accept a plan to raise the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. He was ready to embrace that proposal in the earlier round of talks, but he would face opposition from congressional Democrats and the AARP as well as other groups in the current political climate.

The new inflation adjustment would create government savings of an estimated $168 billion over a decade, according to a recent estimate by the Congressional Budget Office. It also would raise tax revenue by $54 billion by affecting the adjustment in income tax brackets that occurs annually to take inflation into account, CBO said.

___

Associated Press writers Ben Feller, Andrew Taylor and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-sources-obama-offer-moves-toward-boehner-003556886--finance.html

julia child Ron Palillo Texas A&m katy perry Chad Johnson Twitter Helen Gurley Brown Kathi Goertzen